Cinderella Takes the Stand
by Emalia Jinx
Summary: A little story I wrote based on a lawclass assignment I did yeeears ago and recently found. Just another version of the Cinderella story, and a chance for everyone to know the REAL girl of cinders. Heh heh heh. Please RR!ONE SHOT


A/N: I'm sorry for any bad formatting. I don't know what the prob is, but doens't like my formatting. Anyone have any suggestions on how I can keep the formatting I do in word?   
  
ANYWAY I hope you enjoy this ditty about the REAL cinderella. ;-p  


  
  
  
Cinderella Takes the Stand  


  
The courtroom was buzzing with whispered gossip and heated argument. No one could believe they were really there, witnessing one of the most anticipated trials of the century. No one could believe it. It sounded preposterous: young Cinderella suing her family, the Blackroots. It was ridiculous!  
To outsiders, at least.  
People of Terryfale knew the truth, knew the real Cinderella, knew that she was not in fact the quiet, wide-eyed innocent weakling presented in most books and movies – those were for bedtime stories. The real story serves much higher entertainment value. Because in reality, Cinderella was a bitch.  
  
  
  
The sign outside the courtroom said:  
  
The State vs. The Blackroots  
  
The plea, was not-guilty. Everyone knew they weren't guilty, but would they get off free? Or would Cinderella once again manipulate her image and the hungry volatility of the media?  
  
  
  
The Blackroots managed to higher one of the very best lawyers in the land, B.B. Wolffe. He was famous, charming and ruthless. He had helped bring to justice Rapunzel's parents, and the greedy con-artist Rumplestiltskin. The newspapers loved his easy-going manner when he interrogated witnesses, and the confident persuasion he so often used. But most importantly, he never lost a case. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, today we bring to you an unexpected case between a step-mother and step-daughter whose dispute has gone far beyond the typical family argument. Cinderella was placed into Uva Blackroot's care over 10 years ago. Uva had loved Cinderella's father more than life itself and when he died Uva did everything in her power to care for and love Cinderella as if she were one of her own. But most importantly, Uva felt it was now her duty to protect her from the harms and dangers of today's society. To do this, Uva restricted Cinderella to the grounds. Already quietly rebellious, young Cinderella was naïve about the world. Uva wanted to teach Cinderella how to be strong and independent. She wanted her to be ready for life. To accomplish this, she had Cinderella complete simple tasks around the house. But as the years wore on, and Cinderella became more defiant, Uva had to be much more severe in her methods. Cinderella had to be kept occupied so she wouldn't try to run away or revolt against her family. Uva had Cinderella do more chores and work on the farm. Some call it abuse, others say it was cruel, but in reality, what Uva did was no different from what any loving parent would do. She was strengthening her stepdaughter both physically and emotionally. She was teaching her to do things on her own. She was preparing Cinderella for life.  
"So today, as you observe this trial, I want you to look at the evidence presented and put yourself in the shoes of our defendant. What would you have done if suddenly, you were the only remaining parent? How would you care for your child? Disregard the fact that Uva was Cinderella's stepmother and think about what she was faced with. Think about the challenges that lay before her. The difficult task of raising 3 daughters was hers and hers alone. Three daughters, one of whom was strikingly beautiful and obviously vulnerable as fair game to the vultures of the real world. "Listen with your heart. Think about how you would have felt. Ask yourself what you would have done. But most importantly, do NOT, I repeat do NOT allow yourself to be drawn into the dark, vicious world that the prosecution will paint before your eyes. Remember that it could be you, or even your own daughter. What would you do?"  
  
B.B. Wolffe swaggered back to the table where Uva and her daughters sat grimly. He sat down, confident he had set the tone for the rest of the proceedings. The room was silent. The jury looked determined. They listened intently to the meek and shallow opening statement by C. Little, Cinderella's bird-like attorney. Audience members were already shaking their head, knowing who would win.  
  
"I would like to call forth my first witness, Uva Blackroot." B.B. Wolffe motioned for Uva to come to the stand. She climbed onto the witness stand and sat down looking paler than usual.  
"Mrs. Blackroot, I'm going to ask you some questions and I would like you to be honest and direct with your answers. Now, when was Cinderella placed in your care?"  
"10 years ago, when she was 8 and her father had died." Her voice quivered on the last word.  
"Alright, and as her new step-mother, what did you see as your obligation?"  
"To take care of her, protect her and love her."  
"How did you plan on doing this?"  
"Well, I provided her with a safe home and a loving family."  
"Did Cinderella have chores?"  
"Of course, simple, every day chores like washing dishes, mopping floors, cleaning windows, and since we live on a farm estate, tending to the gardens and animals."   
"Cinderella, claims you forced her to do these things without compensation. Is this true?"   
"Not exactly. We have two other maids that help with the heavy duty cleaning and neither of my daughters get an allowance, so I didn't feel I needed to pay her."   
"Is it true that Cinderella had more chores to do than your daughters?"  
"My daughters had their own, but yes, it is true."  
"And what may the reason be for this, ma'am?"  
"She has always had the wild spirit of her father. When he died, she became very rebellious. Then her teen years hit and she needed strict discipline. I wanted her to be a strong, smart, independent woman, so I kept her busy with extra chores."   
B.B. Wolffe looked over his glasses at his notes and then asked his next question. "Where was her room?"   
"She never had had a room of her own after we came to live with them. She had always slept with either of my daughters. But now, she sleeps by the fireplace."  
"What is the reason for this seemingly abusive sleeping arrangement?" Mr. Wolffe stepped away from the witness stand and started pacing objectively before the jury.   
"Ask anyone and they'll tell you it's the warmest place in the house. I couldn't give her any blankets for we were using them up stairs where there's no heat." Uva's voice was defensive. The question seemed unfair – I thought he was on my side?  
"Ok, now lets talk about the Grand Ball. This extravagant event was held at the Palace four months ago. The purpose was for the Prince to find a wife. All the women in the land were invited. Were you going to let Cinderella go?"   
"No."   
From across the room, Cinderella glared at her step-mother. Uva seemed increasingly nervous.   
"And, why not?"   
"Well," Uva hesitated at first but then looked away from her step-daughter. "At first I wasn't planning on going or letting my daughters go, but then they had been having a rough week so I thought I'd let them go for a few hours. I didn't let Cinderella go for 2 main reasons: 1: She had been refusing to any of her chores for a the previous week and 2: As everyone knows, the Prince can have any woman he wants and since he will be King one day, he has the power to compel them to do anything he commands. Cinderella is a very beautiful young lady, but she is also naïve and I didn't want her to be taken advantage of by him."  
Cinderella snorted derisively. Uva looked worried.   
"Please summarize for the court and jury what happened the night of the ball."   
"Well, after Cinderella had claimed to have finished all her chores, she went up to the attic. A couple hours later, when we were about to leave, Cinderella comes running down the hall yelling for us to wait. She had on a simple but very pretty dress she had spent hours on. I didn't want her to have spent all that time for nothing but I also didn't want her to go to the ball, so as politely as possible I told her that I really didn't think it would wise for her to go, that maybe she could go to the next ball. Then she started having a hissy-fit and yelling at me and I repeated what I had told her but then she stormed out the front door towards our car. Since she wasn't listening to me, I took desperate measures. I had Ida and Shinata to pull Cinderella back, but in the process, it ripped the dress. Cinderella started crying. The dress she had spent hours on was now in shreds. She ran to her room screaming that she never wanted to see us ever again. We figured she needed some alone time so we left her and went to the ball."   
"When did Cinderella show up at the ball?"  
"I believe it was around 9 PM, though I didn't know it was her until later when she bumped into me and gave me a look, a very defiant and snotty look."  
An incredulous sound came from where Cinderella was sitting. She looked furious. B.B. Wolffe walked over to his table and picked up a beautiful glass slipper.  
"A few days later, after the ball, is it not true that the Prince came to your house looking for the owner of this glass slipper?"  
"Yes it is."   
"What did you do?"   
"I locked her in my upstairs bedroom. But then the Prince broke down the door and asked her to marry him."   
"Did she say yes?"  
"Of course. She hated living with us."   
"Did you approve?"  
"Of course not! I knew it would never last and I didn't want to see her get hurt!"   
"And it ended in divorce?"  
"Yes, sadly it did."  
"Thank you ma'am, you may step down from the stand."   
  
As Uva descended and walked to her seat, Cinderella made rude gestures from across the room. Muffled whispering started running through the audience, until B.B. Wolffe called his next witness, Ida Blackroot. Ida was indeed an ugly step-sister. With a bulbous nose, crooked teeth and a unibrow, Ida stalked to the stand without confidence or grace. She plumped herself down on the chair and looked down at her lap.  
"Ms. Blackroot, before you went to live with Cinderella and her father, did you have any chores?"   
"Yes, I did."  
"Did you keep the same routine after he died?"   
"Yes, sir." Ida refused to look up. Was she hiding something or just scared?  
"Why did you get to go to the ball, and not your sister?"  
Ida opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it. She glanced up, looked at her step-sister quite frightened and looked back at her lap. "Mother didn't want her to be taken away. She was trying to protect her."   
"Did you rip her dress on purpose?"  
Ida's head flew up in genuine surprise. "No, sir! Not at all! I apologized right away, I felt terrible!"   
"When the Prince came to your home to find the owner of this shoe, why did you try to fit your foot in it?"   
"I was trying to protect Cinderella. I didn't want her to be hurt. I knew it would never work though because my foot is about 3 sizes bigger than hers. I wish I could've helped though, to keep this whole thing from happening." Her eyes welled up and she tried to wipe the tears away without anyone noticing. B.B. Wollfe approached the stand in a slightly intimidating manner and looked directly at Ida.   
"So the fact that if the shoe fit, you would become a princess never crossed you mind?"   
She looked up at him, tears running down her face. "Of course it did, but I've never had intentions of becoming royalty!"   
"Thank you Ida, you may sit down. Would Shinata Blackroot please come to the stand?"   
Ida rushed down, tripping over her long skirt and plopped down next to her mother, while her sister, obviously a little younger, and much more attractive, walked casually to the witness stand. She had blonde hair and blue eyes with a plain face. No striking features, ugly or beautiful. The most noticeable characteristic about Shinata was the way she looked people directly in the eye. When Cinderella glared at her, she glared right back, obviously not upset as easily as her sister.   
"Shinata, your sister said she had chores before you went to live with Cinderella, and that after her father died, her chores remained the same. Is the same for you?"   
"Of course it is, Mr. Wolffe."  
"Why did Cinderella have more chores than you?"   
"She is, well, how do I put this nicely? She needed the discipline and needed to be kept busy so she couldn't cause any trouble." She glanced at Cinderella who was chomping on a piece of gum.   
"Did you rip your step-sister's dress on purpose?"  
"Mr. Wolffe, I had no reason to rip her dress. I was merely trying to hold her back."  
"When the Prince came to your home to find the owner of this shoe, why did you try to fit your foot in it?"  
"For the same reason as my sister. I was doing the sisterly thing and trying to protect her."  
"So, you didn't even think about becoming a princess?"   
"No. They don't have that great of a life, you know. All that pressure to be perfect all the time. Definitely not for me."   
"Thank you Shinata, you may step down."   
  
The audience started murmuring again as B.B Wolffe shuffled through his papers and prepared to call his last witness. But the noise ceased as soon as they heard the witness's name. "My last witness will be King Myson S. Charming II."   
Several audience members started to rise as the king approached the stand. For one of the most respected and revered kings of Terryfale, King Charming looked mighty disheveled and out of sorts.   
"King Charming, your majesty, would you please describe to the court the last relationship your son was involved in?"   
The king sighed, greatly ashamed before answering.  
"Well, he met a nice girl at a party given by the King of Germany. They started dating right away. He'd buy her roses, tea, jewelry, send her cards and 4 weeks later asked her to marry him. But they didn't get married because a week after she said yes, he sent her a card saying he never wanted to see her again. I'm not sure why."   
"Now, before this relationship, didn't your son have a personal relationship with a servant girl?"   
"Unfortunately, yes he did."   
"And what happened with that?"   
"Cecile, one of our kitchen maids, became a nightly visitor to my son's chambers at his command. After several weeks, Cecile proclaimed her love the Prince. He was outraged by this and sentenced her to the Americas with the rest of our country's criminals." The king looked down at his lap, truly ashamed of his son's atrocious behavior.  
"How many female companions has your son had since he reached maturity?"  
The king became extremely quiet, as if counting. But then looked up at B.B. Wolffe and shrugged. The murmuring began again.  
"More than 5? 10? 15, King?  
"Yes, most definitely."  
"What about more than 50? 100?"  
  
"I don't know the exact number, but its more than that."  
The audience loved this. The king confessing to his son's insatiable sexual appetite. There had always been rumors circulating regarding the number of sexual partners that the Prince had had, but to have it confirmed was more than what the townspeople could have wanted.  
"King, has your son ever threatened you or your wife?"  
"Me, no. But he has threatened his mother when he found out that she was not of royalty until she married me."  
Gasps of incredulity rose from the benches. Jury members were looking at one another, astonished. The judge had to bang his gavel to quiet it down.  
"Thank you, sir. I have no more witnesses."  
  
  
  
When the courtroom cleared for recess, everyone was milling around the hallways and outside discussing the case.  
"Well I think its rather obvious who's going to win. The Blackroots were complete unfair in their treatment of that poor girl. She lost her father and everything!"  
"No, no no! Haven't you ever met her? That girl is disrespectful and conniving and doesn't deserve half of the care that Ida has provided for her! Once they put her on the stand, they'll see the truth!"  
"Did you see her sitting at the table, chomping like a cow?"  
"No, but did you see the Prince? I don't care how many girls he's had, he is GORGEOUS!"  
B.B. Wolffe went into the bathroom. He was followed by three short paparazzi.  
"Mr. Wolffe, would you answer a few - "  
"No." He glanced at himself in the mirror and splashed water on his face.  
"But sir, what about - "  
"No." He grabbed a paper towel and blotted the water.  
"Can we take a - "  
"NOOOO!" B.B. Wolffe spun around and roared at the trembling reporters. "GET OUT! WHY DO YOU LITTLE PIGS THINK YOU CAN HARRASS PEOPLE LIKE THAT? GET OUT! OR I'LL COME AFTER YOU!"  
The reporters scrambled out of the bathroom, tripping over one another. B.B. Wolffe took a deep breath, calmly put his glasses back on his long nose and grabbed his suitcase heading back into the courtroom. He wasn't going to let some no-name low-lifes bother him. He had a court case to win.  
  
  
  
C. Little had stupidly denied the chance to cross-examine the Blackroots, thus relying on the validity of his own witnesses. He paced nervously in front of the jury as he questioned Cinderella. Half of what he said couldn't be heard by the audience, and everyone wondered what she had been thinking in hiring this strange little man. Of course he did belong to one of the strongest law-firms in the land, which was owned by his millionaire and very successful father. But family reputation can be deceiving.  
"So, you, um, think that, uh, your step-family was, um, unfair in their treatment of you? Is that right?"  
Cinderella rolled her eyes. "Yes. Of course. How many times do I have to say it?"  
C. Little actually looked scared. "Ok. Ok. Um. That's all, your honor." He took off his glasses as he shakily sat down at the table.  
B.B. Wolffe jumped up from his seat, a wild look in his eye. He loved cross-examination.  
"Cinderella, your father died when you were eight years old. How many chores did you have?"  
"I dunno. Not as many as I have now, that's for sure." Cinderella's gum popped.  
  
"Well, what are your chores now?" He looked at her expectantly.  
With a heavy sigh, she began in an angry voice, "Anything and everything from vacuuming to sweeping to gardening to cooking..."  
"Wow. Sounds tough." The audience chuckled.  
"Now, Cindy, do you mind if I call you Cindy?" (She glared snottily at him) "Now, are you paid for any of your efforts?"  
"NO!" "What about the shelter over your head, and the clothes on your back and the food you eat. Are those not compensation?" "In a way, but not really. Ida and Shinata both get all those things and they don't work at all!" "Oh, not at all. I'm sure. What about cleaning their own chambers and preparing the meals?"  
  
"I guess so." Cinderella glared at her lap.   
"You guess so? I didn't realize it required a guess. Anyway, where did you sleep?"  
"By the fireplace. They said it was the warmest place in the house. They didn't even give me any blankets!"  
"That's a very sad story, Ms. Now, back to the ball. Why did you want to go to this big shindig in the first place?"  
"I thought it would be fun, a little change of pace, considering how dull my life was." "So, it wasn't a life or death situation?"   
"No." She started to look confused.   
"So, you just wanted to go for fun. Now, would you please summarize for the court what happened the night of the Grand Ball."   
"Well, I overheard my step-mom say that she didn't really want to go but she might, just to let her daughters have some fun. I guess I'd been slacking off those past couple days and I really wanted to go, so I had to work super-fast. I finished, just so I'd have enough time to fix up this old dress of mine. I spent a good few hours on it to spiff it up. Well, just as I was changing into it, I heard them getting ready to leave, so I ran down the halls trying to get to them before they left. My step-mom then told me she didn't want me to go, I don't remember why though, I was so upset, I'd really been looking forward to this, and I wasn't about to let her stop me. Then as I stormed through the door, Ida and Shinata started pulling at my dress and they ripped it! I was so mad at them I ran outside to our little courtyard and cried." Her story may have won over a few hearts, if she hadn't sounded so unemotional when she told it. Had she just memorized it to tell the jury? Or was there truth to it?   
"And then what? I'm sure you didn't just sit there crying all night."   
"NO, I didn't. About half an hour later, this pudgy, older lady comes floating down from the sky. She said she was my fairy godmother and could help me. She waved her little wand and POOF I was wearing a gorgeous dress and my hair and nails were all fixed up. Then she waved the wand again and POOF I had a beautiful carriage to arrive at the ball in. Then for some unknown reason, she said I had to be home be midnight, otherwise all this would go away."  
"A "pudgy older lady" came "floating down from the sky" and went "POOF". Sounds very probable. Now, what happened when you went to the dance? Did you dance with the prince?"  
"Yes, I did." She smiled a self-satisfied smile and recrossed her legs.  
"Did you see your family at all?"   
Sneering, she said, "Unfortunately, yes."   
"When did you leave?"   
"At midnight."   
B.B. Wolffe walked over to his table and picked up the glass slipper. "And how do you explain this?"   
With a sigh, she said, "As I was running down the stairs, one of my shoes fell off and I didn't have time to pick it up. So I left it. Plus, I figured if I didn't pick it up, the Prince might try to find me. Ya' know?"  
"Sure. Sure. A few days later, when the Prince came to your house, and you were locked in your step-mom's room, what did you do to try and get his attention?"  
"I threw myself against the door a couple of times against the door, but then I bruised my shoulder so I started throwing my step-mom's jewelry box and her paper weight at the door." She smiled, obviously proud with herself.  
"When Prince Charming came up to let you out, what did he say?"  
"Well, if I remember correctly, "Oh Darling, I'm so glad I've found you. Will you take my hand in marriage?" and so you don't have to ask, I said yes." "That is such a sweet story. When did you jump the broom?"  
"Huh?"  
"Jump the broom. When did you get married?" "Oh, a week later." "And it sadly ended in divorce when?"  
"Three months later."   
"And why did you want to get a divorce?"   
"That is NONE of your business!" She stood up angrily and was about to walk off the stand, but the judge banged his gavel and she sat down, startled.   
"Answer the question, Ms. This is a court of law."   
"FINE. I found out the truth about Prince "Charming". He is a jerk, a complete and total - " and a list of dirty words and clever insults flew from her tongue as she angrily pointed and screamed at her ex-husband. The guard had to grab her and lead her off the stand. The audience was roaring with laughter.  
  
When the Prince was called to the stand for his testimony, C. Little tripped on his way up to interview him. The Prince stared out at the audience with an arrogant grin, and gave the jury a little wave. B.B. Wolffe made a sarcastic snort causing the Prince to drop the charade, and answer his lawyer's questions without pretense. When it was time for the cross-examination, the Prince sent a fleeting look at B.B. Wolffe. Compared to the wild man, the Prince seemed like a dwarf. He was glad no one could see his legs were shaking.  
"Prince I.M. Charming – what a lovely name – would you please state your age for the jury?"   
"I'm 25."  
"25 years old. And is it true that you have had more than 100 female companions since the ripe old age of 16?"   
The Prince looked up at the sky as if counting and then answered, "Yes."   
The audience murmured. Over a hundred companions in less than ten years? It was unbelievable!   
"Well, at least we know you can count. And how many of them have you asked to marry you?"   
Having to count again, the Prince ran his hands through his hair. "Um, 42, 43."  
"And how many times have you actually gone through with it?"  
"Um...none..."   
"So, why did you ask Cinderella to marry you?"   
"Well, she was beautiful, a great dancer, nice to talk to, seemed to want to get away from where ever she was living then, plus she'd look great on a throne."  
"And what made you actually go through with it this time?"   
"She really wanted to go on and do it so I agreed."  
"Not even married and already whipped."  
Certain jury members hid a smile behind their hands. Uva coughed to muffle a laugh.   
"So, after three months of marriage with this lovely young lady, you file for divorce. Why?"  
"She didn't want to do what I wanted her to do and we got in a lot of fights over it."  
"Did you ever threaten her?"   
"Maybe....a few times..."   
"Thank you Prince, you may step down. Do you need an escort?"   
The Prince threw a nasty look the way of the Blackroots' attorney. He was not used to being insulted in public. Here he was, having his public image completely smashed by a skeazy lawyer! What humiliation!  
  
  
  
There were still two witnesses to be called: Abbey Goode and Al Heezerpal. After C. Little's examination of Abbey Goode, B.B. Wolffe felt it would be redundant to even bother questioning her. So he cut C. Little a break. Except for the looks he gave him during the questioning, of course.   
"Um, Mrs. Goode, um, are you or are you not Cinderella's fairy godmother?"  
"No, sir, I am not." C. Little actually looked surprised to discover that, but somehow regained his composure to continue.  
"So, um, then, uh, who are you?"   
"I am one of Sleeping Beauty's fairy godmothers. Everyone in Terryfale has a godmother, as you well know, and Cinderella's was in the hospital, so I filled in for her."  
"Oh, well that was nice. Um, so if you'd never met her before, then, um, why did you help her?"  
"Oh, she seemed like such a sweet little girl, and so sad, crying like that outside. She needed a pick-me-up." The old lady smiled sweetly at the jury.   
"Oh, ok. So, um, why did you give her the midnight curfew?"  
"Well, since I didn't know her, I didn't know if I could trust her so I gave her a small limit."   
"Oh, ok. Um, I have no more questions."   
C. Little looked nervously at B.B. Wolffe as he leaned back in his chair. He shrugged as if to indicate he wasn't going to question her, but bared his teeth as C. Little called his last witness. "Um, Al Heezerpal please come to the stand." A tall, lanky, red-headed boy of about 18 schlumped to the stand. He sat down, and looked out at C. Little. He looked a little scared but not worried at all. "Mr. Heezerpal - "  
"Oh, just call me Al."   
"Um, ok Al. How old are you and, uh, how long have you know my client?"  
"I'm 18, just like her, and I've known her since we turned 6."   
"What has Cinderella told you about living with the Blackroots?"  
"Well she complains about it all the time. She hates it, honestly. She never lets me come over, because she doesn't want me to suffer any of their mistreatment."  
"Oh, ok. Um, do you see her a lot?"   
"Not as much as I used to, no."  
"Ok. Um. That's all." C. Little scurried to his chair as B.B. Wolffe sauntered over to the witness stand.  
"Al, when the Blackroots came to live with Cinderella and her father, do you remember her obeying her step-mother?"  
"Well, yeah. She'd do whatever her parents asked."  
"What about after her father died?"  
"Um, not so much. I think she felt that since Mrs. Blackroot is her step-mother, that she couldn't boss her around."  
"I see. And does she boss her around?"  
"I don't know, sir. I've never been over to the house."  
"Interesting. Did Cinderella become busier than usual after her father died?"  
"Well, she spent a few extra hours every day doing things around the house, but she'd always find time to come and hang out with me."  
"And what did you do when you 'hung out'"?  
"We'd go swimming, or pick apples from their orchard, but mostly we'd talk."  
"About what exactly?"  
"Her bad treatment and all her chores mostly."   
B.B. Wolffe scratched his chin and looked over at Cinderella who was sitting placidly in her seat. "Yet, with all of this terrible treatment and her hours of chores, she still found time to hang out with you and have fun?"   
"Of course. We'd go to the market with her step-sisters sometimes."   
"What about the ball? Did she tell you that she wanted to go?"  
"Yeah. She said no one could stop her from going. Honestly, I didn't see what the big deal was. It was just a dance. They have dances every month nearly."  
From across the room, Cinderella stood up abruptly and started to say something to Al. But her lawyer pulled her down, to keep her from saying anything she might regret. Al looked sadly at Cinderella and shook his head. "Thank you, Al. You may return to your seat."  
  
  
  
Many audience members wondered what happened to Cinderella. Many of them remembered her being a sweet child, who loved everyone. Of course that was before her father died. His death must have caused such trauma that she felt she needed to act out. At least, that's what C. Little tried to convince the jury of. He was so quiet when he spoke, that the court reporter missed most of what he said, and everyone in the audience shook their heads, sorry for the girl. But when B.B. Wolffe stood up, their heads snapped up in attention, waiting anxiously to hear how he would end the day, how he would win the case.   
"Six days ago, when this trail began, I asked you a question: What would you do? Well, now I come to you, looking for an answer. An answer that, I hope, comes from your heart.  
"What would you have done if you had lost your life partner? The love of your life? How would you have dealt with it? How would you have gone on with life? How would you continue with the challenging task of raising not only your own daughters, but his daughter as well? How would you know what decisions to make? Which ones were right and which ones were wrong? Would you be right in coercing your daughter to be strong and independent? Would you be wrong in making her work hard and hiding her from the ravenous, heartless strangers of our cruel world? How do you know? How can you tell? What is right? What is wrong?  
"Parents aren't given a manual for raising children. They must make their decisions based on what is in their hearts. Now is the time for you to make a decision based on what is in your hearts. Who is right? Who is wrong? While you're deciding who is the wrong one in this case, I want you to keep one other question in mind: What would you do?"  
  
When he sat down, some scattered applause could be heard, until the judge gave a dirty look and banged his gavel again. The jury left the room to make their decision.  
Not quite seven minutes later, the jury came filing back into the room. When they announced the verdict, cheers came from half of the room:  
"In the case of the State vs. The Blackroots, we find, the defendents Not Guilty."  
Ida and Shinata jumped up with joy, hugging one another, and their incredulous mother. The audience laughed and cheered and lots of "I told you so"s could be heard. Cinderella sat at her table with a scowl and tears forming in her eyes. The Prince tried to console her, but she smacked him, causing him to stomp away like a chastised toddler.  
Despite all the noise and the cameras flashing and the yells from one very unhappy and indignant girl, B.B. Wolffe looked calm and serene as he leaned himself back in his chair. He was smiling, with a cigar between his lips. Everyone knew he would win the case, it was tradition.  
He stood up and took his suitcase, and walked out of the commotion. He was headed to the Poison Apple Tavern, his favorite place to celebrate victory. But as he was walking out the door, a small hand grabbed his arm.  
"Just you wait, Mr. Wolffe, just you wait. I wont forget what you did today. I'm going to make your life hell! Just you wait!"  
He smiled to himself before turning and looking the girl in the eye. "And while I'm waiting, Ms. Cinderella, I'll know who to call when I need my windows washed." He tipped his hat and strode out the door, leaving Cinderella, glaring with her mouth open, disillusioned and alone. 


End file.
